2 Chronicles 23:7

And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever else cometh into the house, he shall be put to death: but be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(7) And the Levites shall compass.—Kings, “And ye (i.e., the centurions of the royal guard) shall compass.” (See Note on 2Chronicles 23:4.) The chronicler characteristically dwells on the share of the Levites in the matter; but he does not expressly exclude the royal guard; and it is utterly unfair to allege that he has metamorphosed the guardsmen of Kings into Levites, “in order to divert to the priesthood the honour which properly belonged to the Praetorians” (Thenius). The truth may perhaps be that the high priest Jehoiada brought about a combination of the royal guard with the Levitical warders of the Temple; and that the united body acted under the command of the five centurions of the guard.

Cometh into the house.—2Kings 11:8 has, “into the ranks;” a rare word (sedērôth), occurring only four times, viz., in this narrative thrice, and once in 1Kings 6:8 (in a different sense).

But be ye.—So Kings. But some MSS. and the LXX., Vulg., Targ., and Arab. read here: “and let them (i.e., the Levites) be.” (See Note on 2Kings 11:8.)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

23:12-20 A warning from God was sent to Jehoram. The Spirit of prophecy might direct Elijah to prepare this writing in the foresight of Jehoram's crimes. He is plainly told that his sin should certainly ruin him. But no marvel that sinners are not frightened from sin, and to repentance, by the threatenings of misery in another world, when the certainty of misery in this world, the sinking of their estates, and the ruin of their health, will not restrain them from vicious courses. See Jehoram here stripped of all his comforts. Thus God plainly showed that the controversy was with him, and his house. He had slain all his brethren to strengthen himself; now, all his sons are slain but one. David's house must not be wholly destroyed, like those of Israel's kings, because a blessing was in it; that of the Messiah. Good men may be afflicted with diseases; but to them they are fatherly chastisements, and by the support of Divine consolations the soul may dwell at ease, even when the body lies in pain. To be sick and poor, sick and solitary, but especially to be sick and in sin, sick and under the curse of God, sick and without grace to bear it, is a most deplorable case. Wickedness and profaneness make men despicable, even in the eyes of those who have but little religion.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Compare 2 Kings 11:8, 2 Kings 11:11. The soldiers and the Levites in the temple were probably intermixed in about equal proportions.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

4-9. This is the thing that ye shall do—The arrangements made for defense are here described. The people were divided into three bodies; one attended as guards to the king, while the other two were posted at all the doors and gates, and the captains and military officers who entered the temple unarmed to lull suspicion, were furnished with weapons out of the sacred armory, where David had deposited his trophies of victory and which was reopened on this occasion.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

No text from Poole on this verse.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

The contents of this chapter are the same with 2 Kings 11:4 and need no other explanation than what may be found in the notes there, to which the reader is referred.See Gill on 2 Kings 11:4. See Gill on 2 Kings 11:5. See Gill on 2 Kings 11:6. See Gill on 2 Kings 11:7. See Gill on 2 Kings 11:8. See Gill on 2 Kings 11:9. See Gill on 2 Kings 11:10. See Gill on 2 Kings 11:11. See Gill on 2 Kings 11:12. See Gill on 2 Kings 11:13. See Gill on 2 Kings 11:14. See Gill on 2 Kings 11:15. See Gill on 2 Kings 11:16. See Gill on 2 Kings 11:17. See Gill on 2 Kings 11:18. See Gill on 2 Kings 11:19. See Gill on 2 Kings 11:20.

Geneva Study Bible

And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever else cometh {d} into the house, he shall be put to death: but be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.

(d) Meaning to make any tumult, or to hinder their enterprise.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

7. into the house] 2 Kin. “within the ranges” (“within the ranks,” R.V.). Any one who should attempt to break through the ranks of the guard to get near to the king was to be killed. According to the Chronicler Jehoiada’s precaution would protect the sanctity of the Temple as well as the person of the young king.

he shall be put to death] R.V. let him be slain (so 2 Kin.).

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 7. - And the Levites shall compass the king. The matter of ver. 8 in the parallel suggests nothing inconsistent with the express mention of the Levites here, but rather that the word "Levites" is desiderated there, and its significance perhaps accidentally overlooked, when the writer of Kings was using the original authorities and sources of his history. 2 Chronicles 23:7

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

"And the Levites shall compass the king round about, each with his weapons in his hand." The Levites are the bodies of guards mentioned in 2 Chronicles 23:4, 2 Chronicles 23:5. If we keep that in view, then the following words, "every one who cometh into the house shall be put to death," say the same as the words, "every one who cometh within the ranks" (2 Kings 11:8). A contradiction arises only if we misinterpret הקּיפוּ, and understand it of the forming of a circle around the king; whereas הקּיפוּ, like הקּפתּם (Kings), is to be understood, according to the context, of the setting of the guards both at the temple gate and in the courts, so that whoever entered the court of the temple came within the ranks of the guards thus placed.